


Little Drummer Boy

by steviesbucks



Series: punk band au [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Band Fic, Beefy Bucky Barnes, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, Gen, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, No Angst, POV Steve Rogers, Peggy Is A Lesbian, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Punk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviesbucks/pseuds/steviesbucks
Summary: If you’d told Steve Rogers this time last year he’d be playing drums in front of hundreds of people, he’d have just laughed, shook his head and proclaimed that he wished he could.massive thanks to my betashazzaratandshowzen!! I couldn't write without y'all <3
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Steve Rogers, Helen Cho/Jane Foster (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes & Peggy Carter, James "Bucky" Barnes & Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff & Steve Rogers
Series: punk band au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702954
Kudos: 19





	Little Drummer Boy

If you’d told Steve Rogers this time last year he’d be playing drums in front of hundreds of people, he’d have just laughed, shook his head and proclaimed that he wished he could. He was really here, pounding away on his drums, on stage with some of his best friends. His boyfriend was watching in the crowd, pointing at Steve and saying something he couldn’t hear with a grin on his face. Steve doesn’t think he’s ever enjoyed being so surrounded by noise before in his life, Bruce’s amplified voice singing a song they all wrote together, huddled around a library table one afternoon. Natasha on bass guitar, perfectly composed and collected unless you watched her face for a while- she smiled, just a little, bopping her head in time to the chords she was playing. Wanda was on electric guitar, acoustic if the song called for it, her head moving more freely, body moving fluidly towards the microphone when needed as she provided back-up vocals. Steve himself was at the back of the stage, drumming away as he kept his posture straight against the drum throne that thankfully had a back rest. They were a ragtag bunch of college kids who just so happened to decide to make a band 6 months ago and now they were playing for their friends and fellow students. Peggy had even come to visit a week early and had brought her new roommates, Loki and Thor.

After another original and a few cover songs, the band left the stage to applause and whoops of support, going to take a break before their final song to end the night. They all filed backstage, grabbing bottles of water and something to eat. Steve carefully rested himself on a chair, passing his water between his hands, too riled up to actually drink it, instead bouncing his leg and drumming his fingers on his knees. Natasha slid into the chair beside him, holding a can of coke and a brownie. She split it, holding out half to Steve with a nod of her head.  
“Thanks, Tasha, but I’m not really hungry.”  
  
“You alright?”  
  
“Yeah, just.. feels like I’m on fire, y’know? Feels like I’m- like I’m finally-”  
  
“Alive?”  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good way to describe it.”  
  
They sat in comfortable silence after, both taking this moment to relax and take it all in. Eventually, Wanda and Bruce joined them, everybody sitting so they made up some weird four person circle. Bruce and Wanda seem to be unable to sit on chairs properly, Bruce sitting so he could rest his chin on the back and Wanda sitting cross legged, resting her arms on her knees.  
  
“Y’know what?”  
  
“Enlighten us, Wanda.” Nat was still eating her brownie, carefully making sure she didn’t get her black lipstick on her fingers.  
  
“We’re _really fucking good._ ” Steve barely managed to muffle his bark of laughter, Bruce gently shoving Wanda as she hid her face in her hands so as to not make too much noise while she snorted at her own joke, eventually taking deep breaths to sober herself up.  
  
“I’m serious! Bruce, you sounded amazing, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody hit those notes as good as you- Nat, perfect as always, what can I say, you were completely right about ending with a strong bass note!- Steve, that improvised solo was amazing, no wonder everybody started cheering- you’re seriously all geniuses and I mean it when I say we’re _really fucking good! Cheers! To Infinity Calling!_ ”  
  
Wanda raised her bottle of water in a mock toast and everybody humoured her, bumping their bottles together before they all took a drink, proceeding to talk quietly about their plans after the show before somebody popped their head in to announce they were back on in a couple of minutes. Wanda quickly grabbed a makeup bag from her backpack, making sure her makeup was still intact- it was red against her dark skin, a long flick of red liquid liner to make herself a cat-eye that was followed with black and red eyeshadow. Steve always prefered kohl eyeliner personally, just a little gloss on his lips, but it looked great on her. Bruce gave a little thumbs up to everybody else and was the first one out onto the stage, much to the excitement of the audience. Everybody got settled back into their playing positions, Steve adjusting his seat a little- he looked up and made eye contact with Bucky who was watching him with a sparkle in his eye like he’d just watched Steve put the stars into the sky himself. His cheeks felt hot and he could tell it wasn’t just because of the stage lights. He took his seat, holding Bucky’s gaze and not really paying attention to what Bruce was saying to the audience. His eyes were trained on his partner, even as he picked up his drumsticks, only tearing his eyes away when he heard Tasha start playing the guitar, paying attention to his kit and pretending to ignore the wink Bucky gave him.  
  
They played through their rendition of ‘Na Na Na’ much to the approval of many of the college students who listened to My Chemical Romance growing up, happy to see a song they held dear shared with their friends. The crowd joined in singing, everybody jumping up and down, hands in the air, shaking the stage where the performers put their everything into this final song. Steve was sure they were all sweating buckets- he was and he only had to sit down and play. He wasn’t bouncing around like the others, opting to move his head as best he could instead so he could keep the right posture. The guitar solo was incredible, the girls playing together with a coordination only earned by the months of practise they’d put in with each other. They finished to overwhelming applause and whoops of appreciation; Steve knew they were all beaming without even having to look at the others, could sense the mirrored expression of pure joy on all their faces.  
" _Thank you to everybody for coming to see us tonight! We’ve been Infinity Calling, you’ve been amazing, goodnight!_ ” Everybody filed backstage to grab their things and then dashed out of the door to behind the block where the stage was set up, knowing it was easier to meet up out here. After a (very tight) group hug, they all split up, waiting for their respective friends and family to come around the corner. A few other students came around first, congratulating the band on a great show. They all said their thanks at the same time, mostly just making a vaguely positive noise. They laughed about it after, ribbing each other about who would arrive first- it wasn’t a surprise when Pietro came zooming around the corner, holding a jacket for Wanda. He barrelled over to her, thanking them for an amazing show with a friendly “pat” (more of a slap, really) and the request of reserved tickets for the next show. He wrapped the leather jacket around her, taking her bag so she could slip her arms into it.  
  
“Not spending the night with your boyfriend, Wanda?” Nat was absolutely baiting Pietro into demanding to know more about Wanda’s “boyfriend” but she seemingly didn’t care, leaning against the wall and pulling a cigarette out of her pocket.  
  
“ _Boyfriend? Since when do you have a boyfriend?!_ ”  
  
“ _I DON’T have a boyfriend, Natasha is just making jokes_ -”  
  
“ _No, you have to tell me now, I know-_ ”  
  
They continued to argue as Maria made her way around the corner, sauntering up to Tasha and resting her hands low on her hips- nobody paid any mind to them, considering they probably wouldn’t survive the night if they did. Steve shivered just a little, hoping that Bucky hurried up- he was eager to get back home and properly get to say hi again to Peggy and her new friends. Jane and Helen were next, arms wrapped around each other’s waists in a way that looked completely natural, like they were made for each other. They pulled Bruce into a collective hug, thanking everybody else for a good night as well. Steve managed a smile he was sure didn’t quite reach his eyes.  
  
He sometimes felt a pang of frustration he couldn’t do that with the person he loved, the feeling often gone as soon as it appeared. As he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering in his ripped jeans and fishnets with Bucky’s black leather jacket, adorned with pins, he really wished his boyfriend would hurry up and come pick him up so they could go home.  
  
Steve didn’t have to wait long, though, as he heard the telltale sound of Bucky calling for somebody to hurry up as he turned the corner. He went into a full run as he caught sight of Steve, holding a bunch of roses in his right hand- he used his left arm to pull Steve up when he hugged him tight against his chest, Steve being forced to loop his arms around Bucky’s neck and his legs around Bucky’s middle the best he could so he didn’t fall off. He listened to Bucky ramble on about how amazing he was, how lovely he looked, how he was really somethin’ else- Steve decided to shut him up with a firm press of his lips against Bucky’s. The hands locked around the back of his neck moved up to run through the longer length of his hair as Bucky’s own hand rested on his thigh from where his left arm supported Steve so he didn’t have to cling as much. Aware of the fact they had other company present, he pulled away, out of breath and with a colour on his cheeks that wasn’t just because of the cold air whipping around his cheeks. He bumped his nose against his boyfriend’s own carefully, pressing another series of quick kisses to his lips (he tasted like berries and lemonade) before realising that everybody around them was dead silent. All eyes turned to Steve and Bucky, still clinging to each other as nobody moved or made a sound.  
  
“..I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that coming.”  
  
“Didn’t see what coming?” Steve carefully moved down from his boyfriend’s embrace, leaning against him instead as Bucky’s arm found its way over his shoulder.  
  
“You and Barnes!”  
  
“What are you talking about, Pietro? We’ve been together for.. I don’t even know how long!”  
  
“You _have_?”  
  
“Why else did you think I was always hanging around Steve?”  
  
“We all just thought you were friends! Kind of thought you were bullying the poor kid at first-”  
  
“ _Wanda, what the hell!_ ” Steve frowned at her, crossing his arms over his chest- “You really didn’t know?”  
  
“Nobody ever said anything and it wasn’t our place to ask,” Bruce offered as a justification, looking pretty guilty about the whole ordeal.  
  
“Wait- _our_ place? You’ve all been gossiping about my relationship status?”  
  
“I mean, really, Stevie, do you blame ‘em? Look at you, who wouldn’t want to get a piece of that-” Bucky was quickly shut up by a prod of Steve’s cold finger to his rib and a noise of pure distaste, unable to hide his joy and winding up his boyfriend just a little.  
  
“We talked about it once! Except Nat, she just.. didn’t say anything.”  
  
“I didn’t need to, I’d seen the sock on the door a few times.”  
  
“ _Tasha, oh my god-_ ” With that, Nat said her final goodbyes for the night and left, hand in hand with Maria, sharing a cigarette with her.  
  
“I can’t believe you didn’t realise me and Buck were together- I mean, we have been since before I even started here and you really just- didn’t know?”  
  
“To anybody else, you’re both pretty different, I think it’s why Wanda thought you were getting bullied.” Jane was grinning all the while she answered, still tucked comfortably between Bruce and Helen.  
  
“ _Right, I had my reasons to be suspicious-_ ” Wanda started on her spiel about how she was concerned about Steve’s safety as he turned his attention back to his lover.  
  
“Got you these flowers- they’re fake, so they won’t set off your hayfever- thought it’d be nice to get my King Steve a gift for doin’ so well with this whole thing.” Bucky offered the flowers to Steve with the gusto a small child might offer a bug to look at and Steve returned the gesture with a goofy grin, taking the fake roses and holding them close to his chest.  
  
“Me having a drum throne isn’t an excuse for your stupid puns, you jerk.”  
  
“Alright, punk, I’ll stop tellin’ you my wonderful jokes seein’ as you ain’t interested.”  
  
“I think you’re actually incapable of not telling dumb jokes, Buck.”  
  
“You wanna hear another one about a throne I know you like to sit on?-”  
  
“That’s disgusting, I hate you-”  
  
“You know we’ve gotta take Peg and her band of buddies in but when they’re gone, you can sit on it allll ni-”  
  
_“Honestly, a lady comes to visit and she doesn’t even get told where to find her friends!”_  
  
“Speak of the devil and she shall appear,” Steve shot back, the same goofy grin making its way back onto his face as he loosened himself from Bucky to go wrap his arms around Peggy in a hug. She looked as beautiful as usual- she wore the blue dress Steve had seen her in when they’d first met and her hair still looked as amazing as usual, seemingly having only just been done before she went to meet them. She had her friends with her as well; a shorter, dark-haired guy who wore intricate eye makeup to rival even Wanda’s most performative looks and a taller blonde who gave everybody a beaming grin and a wave.  
  
“Peg! My best girl!”  
  
“James! My favourite troublemaker!” She wasn’t phased when Bucky also pulled her in for a tight hug, pressing a little kiss to the top of her head. Bucky and Peggy had always been close ever since she’d met the boys when they were younger, bouncing off of each other with a playful energy people could rarely keep up with.  
  
“I apologise, I don’t think I’ve met you all before- I’m Peggy Carter and these are my friends Loki and Thor.” The brothers greeted the group with a vague noise that (probably) meant hello and a booming declaration of his want to make new friends respectively.  
  
“This is Wanda, Pietro, Helen, Jane and Bruce- you already know Nat and Maria, they just left a minute ago.”  
  
“It’s lovely to meet you all- I’d love to talk more but I know it’s already late, I wouldn’t want to keep you for longer than necessary. Congratulations on the show, by the way, it was amazing- I knew you were going to be good but you were really something else!”  
  
Wanda and Bruce said their thanks before agreeing they really should be going, setting off in opposite directions. Wanda and Pietro bickering could be heard even as they left the side street they were all gathered in, Bruce and the girls talking about astro-something or other, Steve wasn’t really sure on the whole science side of things. He stuck to art, his paintings and his drums. _Ask to paint Peggy, ask for pictures of London,_ Steve remembered adding to his to-do list for the week, determined to have something to show for the time they’d all spend together over the upcoming week.  
  
“So, boys, ready to go home?”  
  
“Yes, ma’am, I’ll lead the way, ma’am.” Bucky gave a fake salute, turning on his heels to start mock marching towards their shared dorm. Peggy just rolled her eyes, gesturing for her guests to follow on.  
  
Being in a college band was officially the best thing Steve had ever done, he decided.


End file.
